


Talk to me

by awkwardsausage



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Can be read as friendship, Crying Keith (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Angst, M/M, POV Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 19:24:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20935475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardsausage/pseuds/awkwardsausage
Summary: Keith is distancing himself from his friends and Lance confronts him on a cold balcony.Inspired by 'Talk to me - Klance Animatic' by Norman LGLG on YouTube.





	Talk to me

“Keith, talk to me, you’re withdrawing from us,” Lance pleaded, clutching his coat closer to his body in the biting cold. The balcony above their dorms was dark, shrouded in the black of night and only illuminated by the light of the doorway behind him. The orange light of Keith’s cigarette flickered weakly as the wind blew. He stood out on the balcony, staring out at the vast darkness of the school campus laid out like a sheet. Keith only had a thin shirt and a pair of sweatpants Lance swore he had seen him wear the entire week. He must be freezing in this sort of weather.

Saying Keith had been distant was an understatement. He had blatantly avoided his group of friends for the past two weeks, choosing to stay held up in his room or on this balcony where the clinging stench of his cigarettes could never reach them. Pidge and Hunk were worried but gave him his space, gave him time to think and maybe sort out his problems. But Lance had always been impatient though, which led to him tracking the boy down to the balcony.

“Keith?” Lance grit his teeth. The boy seemed determined to ignore Lance and continued to face away, not giving Lance any hint on what he was feeling. Keith exhaled and the smoke swirled upwards and disappeared into the sky.

“Dude say something, anything! Please, we miss you. Talk to me,” Lance shouted louder as the wind picked up, whipping Keith’s hair as cold nibbled at Lance’s fingers and at his impatience.

“Go back inside, Lance. It’s cold. I have nothing to say,” Keith answered curtly, feigning nonchalance. However, Lance knew he was barely holding his words together if the little wobble in his voice meant anything. Lance knew Keith was barely holding _himself_ together. It was always about the little things about Keith. Unlike Lance’s flamboyant personality stitched with big gestures and words, Keith’s was embroidered carefully with small pinpricks of smiles and expressions that you could only appreciate if you looked hard enough. But now, Keith was winding himself tighter around himself, the strings were frayed and pulled taut and if Lance wasn’t careful, he would snap.

“Keith, either you talk to me or watch me leave. Right now. You’ll never see me again, we’ll never speak to each other again,” The boiling anger in Lance spilt over, filling the chilly silence with heated words. Lance saw the exact moment the words finally melted through Keith’s shell. Keith stiffened, shoulders jolting slightly, his fingers tightening around the cigarette a little more.

“I’m really going to leave,” Lance hissed as the wind picked up. Keith remained in the same position as the wind howled, the noise getting louder with the static in his head. Keith really wasn’t going to say anything. Hah, Lance thought with a bitter laugh, he should have known. Maybe Keith just didn’t want to be friends with them anymore.

The wind died down slowly.

“Bye,” Lance whispered and turned and took a step in the opposite direction.

“W...Wait!”

Lance froze, slowly turning around.

Keith still hadn’t turned but his fists were by his sides, cigarette lying on the floor, crushed under his feet. His body shook and his fists trembled violently.

“P...Please just- wait,” He whispered shakily, bringing a fist to his face and flattening a palm over his face. Lance was stunned. He had never heard Keith so distraught. Keith had always been the stable one, the reasonable one, the one Lance could hold onto on rough nights, the one who would whisper that everything would be alright and you would believe him. A sudden thought jolted through Lance’s head, with all the times Keith asked if anyone was okay, how many times has he been asked that? Lance pulled his coat tighter as the anger simmered, allowing the wind to whistle through the crevices of Lance’s guilt.

“Hey, just look at me Keith, please?” Lance walked hesitantly towards Keith, holding his arms open for the distressed boy. Keith seemed to lean back slightly instinctively but flinched forward suddenly, avoiding Lance’s arms. Lance frowned, Keith was usually so sure what he wanted to do so why was he so hesitant now?

Keith always knew what to do. He was all hard angles and sharp words and when it boiled down to comforting someone, he never softened. Instead, he would affirm you, give you a promise that things would be okay and he would say it so confidently that you had little choice but to believe him.

Lance blinked at this sudden revelation. If he couldn’t coax Keith out of his shell, then he’d have to wrestle him out.

“Stop avoiding me, come here,” Lance ordered, lifting his arms again and stepping closer. Keith needed to be affirmed, he needed to know that he could receive love the same way as he gave it. “I promise, it will be okay, just come here.”

Lance closed his eyes and waited for a second.

Two.

Three-

A weight landed softly in Lance’s arms and clung tightly. His eyes snapped open only to look down to find a mop of hair he had grown to love. The arms around his waist constricted his airway but he didn’t mind. Keith was holding onto Lance as if he was going to disappear like wisps of cigarette smoke in the harsh wind. All Lance could focus on was the fact that Keith had finally picked himself undone, leaving the mess of himself unspooled for Lance to see. His body shook with painful sobs that tore Lance inside and Lance enveloped him in his lanky limbs, holding him just as tightly.

“I’m here, I won’t leave,” Lance whispered into Keith’s hair, stroking the strands of black hair. Keith was gasping for breath but was unwilling to remove his head from where it was buried in Lance’s coat. The coldness of the night seemed to vanish along with Lance’s doubts as Lance held the fragile body in his arms.

“I-I’m so...Your coat-” Keith blubbered, choking on breaths and hiccuping painfully. Lance gently pried Keith’s face from his coat.

“Breathe, stop fighting yourself, let it go,” Lance stared down into Keith’s eyes and it felt like he was seeing them for the first time. They were wet and how those eyes could hold so much grief would always be a mystery to Lance. Keith’s face was flushed red and snot ran down into his gaping mouth. It was by no means a pretty sight. Keith brought a hand up to cover his face while the other tightened more around the fabric of the coat. Lance was heartbroken at the blatant shame Keith was showing. Keith swallowed painfully and looked downwards again.

“It’s okay to cry, Keith, let me see you,” Lance removed the hand and grasped it firmly in one of his while he kept the other wrapped tightly around the boy’s shoulders, a reminder that now Lance was his stability. Keith’s fingers were colder than the wind itself and Lance wrapped his long fingers around his, intertwining them to fill in the gaps of his loneliness.

Keith shuddered and wiped his snot off with the sleeve of his shirt. Lance pulled Keith’s hands away and used the sleeve of his own coat to wipe all the fluids from his face. Keith’s breath fluttered out as he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. Hiccups still racked his chest but he had calmed down from his initial hysteria.

Lance felt Keith go limp and slowly guided him to the floor where he let Keith lay against his chest, breathing heavily from his breakdown. As he carded his fingers through Keith’s hair, he stared up at the night sky where small pinpricks of light shone hopefully.

“It’ll be okay, Keith.”

He didn’t know why Keith was upset but he wanted, _needed_, Keith to know that he was loved. And for once, Lance wished that when he said everything was going to be okay, Keith would believe him.


End file.
